The Roberts Wesleyan College Lady Raiders saw their 6 game home winning streak come to an end Saturday afternoon against the NAIA #10 Walsh University Cavaliers 64 – 49. A large senior day crowd turned out at the VAC as the Lady Raiders honored seniors
Cynnetha Bellinger (Binghamton, NY),
Katie Lowell (Binghamton, NY),
Brittany McMillon (Lyons, NY) and
Tiffany Wilson (Rochester, NY). Although Roberts held a one point lead with six minutes remaining in the game, the Cavaliers (22 – 4, 13 – 1 AMC) outscored the Lady Raiders (15 – 10, 8 – 5 AMC) 25 – 9 down the stretch to win 64-49.
In a game that saw 9 ties and 10 lead changes, the Raiders led 26 – 25 at the half. Defense was the key for both teams. Each team forced 25 turnovers. Roberts led 11 – 9 with 9 minutes to go in the first half. Robert's biggest lead was 4 and Walsh gained a five point lead with 3 minutes to go in the half, but Roberts erased that with a 7 – 1 run to close out the half. A three from guard
Morgan Skiff (JR, Rochester, NY) and 4 free throws from forward
Bianca Jones (JR, Long Island City, NY) closed out the half.
Two free throws from Kayla Kovach (14 points) put the Cavaliers ahead 32 – 28. The Raiders responded again. This time with a 11 – 1 run to build their biggest lead at 39 – 33 with 11 minutes to go. A long three from Skiff started the run, and the senior point guards took over. Bellinger hit a jumper and then Wilson followed up with back to back layups, before Bellinger hit two free throws to cap the run. But Walsh showed why they are a top team in the country, taking the lead for good 41 – 40 on a pair of free throws from freshman guard Daniella Ciccarone (10 points) with six minutes remaining. Although the Lady Raiders would have five opportunities to tie the game in the remaining minutes, Walsh played with poise and closed out the victory, their 17th win in a row.
Roberts was led by McMillon with 12 points, 10 rebounds and blocked 3 shots. Forward
Lindsay Kendall (SO, Rochester, NY) joined McMillon in double figures with 10 points. Kendall added 3 steals. Skiff, Wilson and forward
Bianca Jones chipped in 6 points each. Jones added 5 rebounds and 2 blocks and forward
Sarah Child (JR, Albany, NY) added 2 blocked shots. Wilson led the Raiders with 3 assists and added 2 steals.
“We certainly had our opportunities,” said Raider coach
Bob Segave. “We really played well on the defensive end for about 35 minutes, but Walsh is a very strong veteran team and they never lost their composure. We did not take care of the basketball. We turned it over way too many times. They had an 11 rebound advantage, which has not happened to us lately, and we only shot 31% from the field. You always hope you can win on senior day and I am sorry that we came up short. Our seniors have provided so much to Roberts and our program both on and off the court. I am very proud of Katie, Britt, Cee Bee, and Tiff. They are wonderful young ladies.”
The Lady Raiders finish out the regular season with a difficult three game road trip. On Tuesday February 15, 2011 the Lady Raiders play their third game in 10 days against a top 15 team when they travel to NAIA #9 Daemen College. Tip Off is set for 6PM.
